Magic and Sword Lessons: The Hard Way
by Maurice A. Nigma
Summary: Now, have any of you would wonder what would happen if a person from our world would take magic and sword lesson from the Slayers gang? Well you're going to find out for when you read this story. Later!
1. Chapter 1

**Magic and Sword Lessons: The Hard Way**

**Story written by: Maurice A. Nigma**

**Characters and References of "The Slayers" by: Tsuguhiko Kadokawa**

**Characters and References of "Sonic the Hedgehog" by: Yuji Naka of SEGA**

Within the world where the God Ciephied and the Dark Lord Shabranigdo, a group of travelers were nestled around a camp fire in the middle of the forest at a starry night having a peaceful dinner. Of course, the way that the people within the group acted is anything but normal. "Gourry! Get your hands off that drumstick! I saw it first!" was what the short red-head Lina Inverse said to her swordsman companion Gourry Gabriev just as they began to fight over a piece of meat that was apart of the normally huge, to their standards, meal.

"No fair, Lina! I was saving that piece for last!" was what the blond male swordsman responded to his female companion just as he tried his best to tugged the piece of meat away from the small sorceress. "Besides, didn't you just ate that large piece of chicken that you've managed to eat in one bite?!"

Sighing with both exhaustion and annoyance, three out of their four companions just ignored the scene as if it were only a normal occurrence rather than anything big. One of them, Sylphiel Nels Lahda, was busy going over the fire cooking another portion of the rest of her companions' meal. In the case of Lina and Gourry, it took her a long hour just to get their portion of their own enormous meal prepared right before serving the rest of her companions. The young woman didn't mind though, for one of her greatest hobbies that always manages to bring her great joy. She giggled a bit for when she heard a young but familiar voice saying with a rather amazed and frightened tone within his voice.

"Man, I still can't believe that of all the things that I happened to see within this world so far, this is perhaps the weirdest," he said quietly to two people just as he witnessed one of the greatest experiences that he had since coming within this world. "I can only image what they both would be like for when they're really hungry. The thought of it just scares me enough to give me nightmares."

"Just be thankful that it is just those together eating," replied a young but older man with a rather mutual sounding tone. "If Amelia were to join the two them, they could probably clean out an entire town's worth of food in just about a half hour when they're really hungry."

"Hey, I'm not that bad, Mr. Zelgadis," responded a young and energetic female that sounded both annoyed and shocked at what her companion just said about her. "Sure, I could be as hungry as both Miss Lina and Mr. Gourry for when we're starving, but we wouldn't go that far!"

"Somehow, hearing you say those words hasn't managed to calm my nerves about those two's wild appetite one bit, Amelia," responded the new comer to the group with a rather skeptical tone.

Zelgadis Greywords, a human chimera, only let out a rare smile crawled through all across his pebbled and bluish face. Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun pouted at the comment that their visitor gave to her right before the two of them barely managed to dodge a huge bone throw by Lina after hearing the comment. Their new friend, Miguel A. Arias, is someone that everyone hadn't expected to see. The young man actually arrived in this realm along with four beast-like and intelligent creatures who come from a completely different world. These visitors actually are more than what they appear to be for when the group, with the exception of Sylphiel, saw what they are capable of against a Monster that was infused with the power of a gem that made it as powerful as a Dark Lord. But what caught their attention the most is the fact that Miguel himself was able to transform into an entirely different being that possesses near god-like abilities that was able to defeat the creature in one attack. This new information took a little time for the group to absorb for when all they could see is just normal looking male teenager who came from another dimension.

Back on the subject at hand, when looking towards the young man's direction, Sylphiel could see that he still getting used to the articles of clothing that was given to him. What he's wearing is a different colored version of Gourry's usual swordsman outfit but with a sort of silver coating going over the huge but decent sized shoulder guards of the gray under shirt he wore. He also wore flexible and hard boots that allow for easier maneuvering. Not only that, but he also wore black fingerless gloves that allowed him to get a better grip on whatever weapon that he could get his hands on. The last thing that completed the look is the regular looking broad sword that has been attached to his hip that didn't look too pleasing to use in battle, no doubt one of the choices that Lina herself has picked.

However, the look that the shrine maiden saw on the young man's face tells her that he's still feeling a bit uncomfortable for when it comes to adjusting to his new attire. It was something that was necessary in order to help him adjust to the world that he's in now as well as keep his entry into the world a secret. Most of the people within Seyruun had witnessed the battle that had occurred within the city of white magic and wanted to get the attention of the heroes that managed to defeat the monster that became mad enough to destroy the entire world. Since that day, some people tried to get a close look at the creatures that have the intelligences of humans as well as the young man that transformed into a powerful green haired being in front of their very eyes. Fortunately, they haven't gotten a very good look at the saviors from another world so it wasn't too difficult to hide Miguel's identity as well as hide the Mobians. But that still didn't make Miguel's adaptations to the world easier.

"Man, I still can't see why I have to wear this heavy suit," was what the young man grumbled out loud for when everyone, including both Lina and Gourry, turned towards his direction seeing him struggling to get himself off the ground in order to stand on his two feet with the weight of the armor now literally baring down on his shoulders. "I know that I'm now strong enough to take heavy weights thanks to all of those years of carrying around my books for class, but is all this really necessary? I mean, this suit really leaves nothing to the imagination."

"Well, get used to it, kid. As long as you're in this world, people might get a bit suspicious for when they see you in your regular clothing," was what the self proclaimed sorcery genius said to the outer worldly teen while at the same time munching on a piece of meat that she managed to swipe from Gourry right as gulped it down and continued with a bit harsher tone. "Not only that, but the way that you were able to emit that much power that you've used against that Monster Naturon Gaav is enough to get the attention of the entire Monster Race. So deal with it and wait for your supper like a good boy!"

"Sigh! Yes, ma'am," was what the young man responded to the red-haired sorceress right before he sank himself to back onto the ground and felt terror crawling all over his body. "Man, this sucks!"

"Join the club, kid," was what Zelgadis said to the young man while at the same time looking over some old papers that he reading over while at the same time noticing the scene. "My advice to you is to try not to get on that girl's bad side and what you've just received is Lina in one of her good moods."

"Hey! I'd watch that mouth of yours if I were you, Zel! Not unless you're asking to be sent skyrocketing to the moon! Ya got that?!" Lina responded to the blue stoned Chimera with a rather evil and menacing glare on her face just as she raised one of her curled up fists.

This action cause everyone, all but the blond swordsman who managed to swipe another piece of meat from the young girl's hand, to shiver and freeze in fear at her presence. When it comes to saying something about Lina Inverse either from behind her back or right to her face, someone is just asking to die right where they stand or sit. Of course, the tense moment soon passed for when Sylphiel suddenly came up to the group with a huge pile of food that looked as though it was enough to feed a small army. Everyone's faces went wide eyed for when they all saw the impossibly large portions of the meal that both the sorceress and swordsman received. Miguel was the first person to speak his mind.

"Uh, Sylphiel, I know that you're a great cook and all, but do you really think that making about a huge pile of food for those two is really necessary? It must've took you a long time to prepare a meal like that! Not to mention the fact that it must've been real heavy for you to carry!"

"Oh, I don't really mind doing, Miguel," was what the purple clad shrine maiden respond while at the same time managing to place the huge pile of food right near both Lina and Gourry with a bit difficulty. "Whew! I mean, it must've took both you and Mr. Zelgadis some effort in order to get that much meat for dinner."

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure that it was fair to the big scary monster that we've bagged a while back for when Miguel got to finish it off with only one attack," was what the blue skinned chimera said to his female companion while at the same time turning to face the young man with a rather stern but calm look on his face. "Given the fact that this guy seems to possesses abilities far beyond any Monster that we've ever faced, it was rather impressive. Not only that, but he was also able to learn and use the Ra-tilt in such a short time. What I would really like to know is how he was able to do it in such a short time."

At those words, Miguel began to chuckle with embarrassment and nervousness for when he heard those words come out of his mouth. Ever since his fight with the Monster named Naturon in Seyruun, he's been wondering from time to time on how in the world did he managed to learn such a powerful spell like the Ra-Tilt so quickly. This not only caught the young man off guard, but he was scared with the fact that he was able to learn other abilities from anyone nearby. Like when during his fight with Naturon in the skies above Seyruun that he was able to use Shadow the Hedgehog's own Chaos Spear attack. It would also explain on how he was able to use the Chaos Control the very first time just before he had his first fight with the Mobian sorcerer Ixis Naugus.

"Well, I've got to be honest with you, Zel. I'm not too sure about it myself," was what Miguel said to the blue stoned chimera with a rather nervous tone in his voice while at the same time trying not to stammer like some idiot. "You see, back when I've first fought the sorcerer, Ixis Naugus in another world, I was able to use Shadow's own Chaos Control ability without much effort. I think that for when Naturon attacked a while back, I must've gained control of not only Shadow's Chaos Spear attack but the Ra-Tilt as well. I'm still a bit confused about how I was able to learn that spell very quickly."

"Now, that is something that I find difficult to believe, Mr. Miguel," Amelia responded to the young man from another world while at the same time pointing her index finger towards his direction accusingly. "I mean, both Mr. Zelgadis and I took years in order to learn how to harness it properly when you only took like about ten minutes in order to use it."

"Uh, don't you know that it's impolite to point, Amelia," Miguel said to the young girl with a rather stern tone while at the same time causing the younger girl to back off with a blush on her cheeks just before he could continue. "Anyway, I was just lucky enough to learn that powerful spell as the Ra-Tilt like I did or otherwise we'd all be dead meat right now."

"Now wait a minute, kid!" was what the red-haired sorceress said to the teen while at the same time gulping down the rest of her food right before she continued, "I know that I've just met you and your little animal friends back then, but I do know for a fact that there no way that you would be able to learn Zel and Amelia's spell so easily and quickly in such a short time! No way in hell that that's possible!"

"I'm afraid that I have to agree with Lina on that one, kid," Zelgadis added to Lina's words just as he softened his face a bit so as to not frighten the brown haired young man anymore from his appearance than he already is just before he continued. "From the way that I saw you use the Ra-Tilt against Naturon back in Seyruun, it seemed a little unbalanced and unfocused. Almost as if you weren't really thinking properly."

"Yeah, now that I think about it, Mr. Zelgadis, Mr. Miguel's attack did seemed a little untamed," the princess of Seyruun said to the chimera with a rather thoughtful tone within her voice while at the same time turning to face Miguel's direction. "Mr. Miguel, I'm betting that it was the very first time that you've ever used a spell as powerful as the Ra-Tilt, have you?"

Just as the young man nodded his answer towards to princess, the topic was soon forgotten a second later for when Gourry, who still has his hands full with his dinner, asked with a rather confused tone, "Uh, just what are you guys talking about? I wasn't really listening."

The words of the blond swordsman caused everyone but Sylphiel to collapse to the ground as if he just said the most unbelievable thing in the world. Lina, who managed to recover from the shock much quicker than the others, gave Gourry a good pounding on the head with her fist just as she shouted out, "Gourry, you, Jellyfish Brains!! Don't you ever pay attention to anything important that anyone talks to you about!? I can't believe that you were able to learn how you were able to learn speak let alone use a sword!! You idiot!!"

When everyone who fell managed to pick themselves up from the ground, they all sweat dropped at the sight in front of them just the red-haired girl continued her onslaught against the blonde's poor head. Just as Sylphiel arrived at the scene with a normal sized plate, she her eyes soon focused on the sight of the petite female beating the large swordsman's skull senseless with her fist. The dark-haired shrine maiden gave a blank look at the sight right before she said with a rather worried tone, "Miss Lina! Don't be so rough on Gourry! You're only hurting him!"

"Oh, don't worry, Sylphiel. It takes more than what I'm doing to harm this lunk head! See?" was what Lina responded to her older female friend while at the same time holding the swordsman in a head lock.

"L...Lina! Ca...Can't breathe!" was what the blond swordsman said through Lina's death hold while at the same time appearing to be turning blue just before the sorceress released her hold on him.

"Ahem! Now, back to the topic at hand," was what Zelgadis said with a cough in his voice right before he turned his attention back towards Miguel and continued, "Miguel, it's pretty clear that you can use the Ra-Tilt, but you yet to master on how to focus it properly. That could cause some problems for when it comes to any wandering Monsters trying to find any strong human that they could find to join their ranks."

"What do you mean that, Zel?" the brown haired teen asked the chimera while at the same time still trying to adjust to the armor that he's now wearing right before he heard Zelgadis continue.

"What I mean Miguel is that for when you've just displayed that power of yours back in Seyruun a couple of weeks back, your Ra-Tilt looked untamed and unstable. Not only that, but now that most of the people within the city now knows of the existence of you and your friends, it would only be a matter of time before any information that is contained within the city would be leaked to outside forces. Specifically, the members of the Monster Race. If any of them have sensed any trace of that energy that you've emitted, it could only be a matter of time before we would be crawling with demons and trolls on our backs."

"You know, Zel does bring up an interesting point, kid," Lina added to her older companion's words right before she removed her death hold around Gourry's neck and pulled a thoughtful look on her face just before continuing. "But there's one thing that has me bothered and that's the fact that neither me, Zel, or Amelia were able to sense a trace of that so called great power coming from your body. I mean, a power that great wouldn't be too hard to sense without something like a talisman powerful enough to contain it. Care to explain to me on why that is, Miguel?"

As soon as he heard those words coming from the red haired sorceress, Miguel began to become a bit hesitant and thoughtful for when he thought of a good explanation to Lina's question. He also knew that speaking the wrong answer to Lina Inverse herself would mean a Fireball spell directed at his direction. Just as he was about to respond, the brown haired teen began to hear Zelgadis saying to the young sorceress with a rather stern and annoyed tone in his voice, "Lina, just give it up. It's pretty obvious that the kid has no idea about why that power of his can't be sensed by magical means. Not to mention the fact that he hasn't the slightest idea of why he has such power to begin with so there's no point in trying to question him any further."

"Whew! Thanks a lot, Zel," was what the young man said to the blue skinned chimera with a sigh of relief just as he stopped messing with the guards of his armor and gave a grateful smile to him. That soon lasted for about ten seconds for when Lina started to speak up again.

"That still doesn't mean that the guy could still become a threat to those around him, especially with Monsters like Naturon are involved. Not only that, but if he uses those powers of his as well as that sword that Sylphiel has mentioned to me a while ago, then there would be bound to be plenty of problems that would make the kingdoms in this world to become attracted to whatever caused that huge mess back in Seyruun. Believe me, that's the sort of trouble that Miguel wouldn't want on his mind."

"Uh, hey, Lina. I don't know if I remember this right, but weren't you the one that went nuts a while back for when that guy made fun of you back at that restaurant?" Gourry responded to his female companion with a rather thoughtful expression on his face just as he managed to recover from the red head's assault.

With those words out of the blond swordsman's mouth, everything went silent. The time that passed throughout the campsite was so still that the only thing that seemed to be moving was the evening winds passing by giving chills to anyone near their path. But none could be much more terrifying than the fit Lina Inverse had thrown her way. "Hey! I wasn't really myself at the time, Jellyfish Brains! Besides those creeps back at the restaurant asked for it!"

Everyone within the camp sweat dropped at the words that Lina gave to her male companion said. Everyone, including, Sylphiel who had just arrived holding a plate full of food for Miguel, also began to tremble with fear with what the red head said. Before anyone could have the chance to calm the angered sorceress down, Lina began to face her attention towards both Miguel and Sylphiel themselves just as shouted to them with a rather menacing tone of voice, "And you two! What were you thinking for when you both were arguing like a married couple that you had to slam your fists on my head?! Huh?! I'm waiting!"

At those words, both the shrine maiden and the outer worldly visitor began to shake nervously just as the two of them began to say in unison with blushes on their faces, "Hey, we're not a married couple, Lina! Why are you picking on us? It's not our fault, it was Nightmare Parasite!"

"Excuses! Excuses!" was what Lina said to the two just as she stomped her way towards the couple causing the two to back away a bit with terror. "The two of you were the ones that managed to sock it too me right in the forehead and send me flying straight into the wall! The kid I could understand for when it comes to being attacked, but Sylphiel's a different story. I mean, for as long as I've known the girl, she wouldn't dare try to hurt a fly."

When they both heard those words, the dark-haired shrine maiden began to flush a bit redder than her male companion just before Zelgadis spoke out with a bit of amusement hinted within his tone, "I have to admit that Sylphiel's has gotten a bit rough for when she fought those bandits a while right before Naturon attacked. The kid must've been a real influence on her for when she went on her solo-adventures with her."

Just before either Miguel or Sylphiel could have the chance to respond to the words that the sorceress and chimera have spoke about, Amelia began to say to everyone around the campsite while at the same time getting everyone's attention just as she got into a somewhat dramatic pose, "Well, I for one admire Ms. Sylphiel on how she was able to grow into a fine warrior. A warrior who fights for those who couldn't fight for themselves or when weaken! Now that is what I called a female who fights for justice!"

With those words, everyone in the campsite began to give the self-proclaimed Hero of Justice a blank and somewhat frightened look on each of their faces. Miguel is the first to give a piece of his mind about the scene. "Uh, I don't mean to disrespect you, Amelia, but I think that you're taking this rather too seriously. Not to mention that you sound a bit crazy for when you say that speech of yours. In any case, what are we going to do now? I mean, it's pretty obvious to me that allowing me to use my own powers and abilities on any upcoming monsters or bandits that might attack is now no longer an option for me to do since it might bring any unwanted attention to me. Isn't there any way for me to adjust being here without raising any suspicion from the locals other? Right now, I'm open to suggestions."

Right as he managed to lift himself off of the ground due the weight that his armor caused, Sylphiel began to say to Miguel with a rather cute giggle just as she held out a plate of food towards her companion, "Miguel, please have something to eat first. I'm sorry that it took so long to get ready but I had to get both Lina and Gourry's dinner ready before they got upset or die hungry."

"Well, I couldn't make an argument with you there, Sylphiel. Thanks for the meal, by the way. It smells really good that I can't wait to start eating," was what the young man said to his female friend while politely taking the plate away from her hands and began to eat just as a blush appeared on her face.

Just as he began to savor the taste of what the dark haired shrine maiden had prepared, Lina began to say to him to what appears to be the most horrifying words in his entire life, "Well, why not learn how to use magic from me?"

As soon as he heard those words, Miguel began to choke on the piece of meat that he had been carefully chewing on for the past few moments. When this happened, everyone, including Sylphiel, turned towards his direction and began to become both confused and shocked for what they've just heard and seen. It seems that the only one who was concerned with the brown haired teen's well being at the moment was the purple clad shrine maiden who was now patting her hand against his back in order for him to get his throat cleared of the food that made him choke.

"Miss Lina, are you actually serious about that?" Amelia responded to the red haired sorceress with a rather shocked and confused tone within her voice.

"Well, of course I'm serious about that, Amelia," was the response of Lina with a prideful tone within her voice just as turned towards the princess of Seyruun. "I mean, think about it. The guy was able to use the most powerful spell of all Shaman magic in way less time than what you and Zel had to take. Any other spell that I could teach the guy would be a piece of cake for me to shove in his head. Just imagine what kind of news that I would be able to get for when someone gets wind of this!"

When the young man was finally able to breathe again, he began to say to Lina with a rather flabbergasted tone, "You must be out of your mind if I would allow a little wacko like you to teach me any magic that you have in mind for my first lesson! Besides, learning anything from you would mean either my death or a trip to the hospital at best!"

As soon as Miguel said those words, the red haired sorceress began to fume with anger as she began to chat the words to a spell that would mean either setting the young man on fire or blow him up. Just before she could have the chance to launch any destructive spell that she had a mind, Gourry instinctively ran over to her and grabbed the small girl with all of his strength. This also caused Lina to yell at the swordsman while struggling to the free herself from his clutches, "Gourry, what the hell are you doing?! I'm just going to set his pants on fire! Let me go!"

With everyone giving blank looks at the scene, the blue skinned chimera was the first to respond right after he recovered just as he cleared his throat, "Ahem! Well, back on topic, Miguel does need to learn a few new spells in order to adjust properly to this world, but to learn how to focus his magic powers properly. From what I could tell by watching him perform the Ra-Tilt on Naturon back in Seyruun, he seems a bit too unfocused. I'm amazed that he was able to keep the spell under control as he had for when he fought that Monster. What that guy needs is some training if he were to learn how to use them properly."

"Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea to me, Zel," was what Miguel responded to the chimera's proposal with a rather enthusiastic tone right after finishing the first portion of food within his mouth and wiped off any unwanted meat right before he continued. "I mean, every time that I seem to get myself into hard situations, I seem to rely too much on the powers that the Chaos Emerald has given to me. Not only would learning a few spells would help me out a lot, but it would also keep the locals from giving me strange looks whenever I do something out of the ordinary."

"Sounds more like Lina for when she demands more food on her plate," was what they have heard a recovering Gourry responding to the young man's words while at the same time receiving a bruise on his face with her fist and a dirty look from Lina as his punishment for restraining him.

"Hey, it's not my fault that the guy wouldn't give me my dinner fast enough at the time, Jellyfish Brains!" was what the red haired magic user said to her knocked down guardian right before she managed to calm herself and begin to turn her attention towards Miguel's direction with a rather excited glint of light shining through her eyes. "Anyway, Miguel, it's not a bad idea for you start using magic for when you already know how to fire off the Ra-Tilt. The only thing that you do need to work on is the way you held your focus and I'm going to make sure that every last thought that's distracting you is out of that head of yours even if it means beating the stuffing out of you to do it. It also wouldn't be a bad idea for you to train to get a few sword lessons as well for Gourry would have that covered. So what I suggest is that you to finish up the rest of your meal and rest for starting tomorrow you're going to begin your magic and swords training under the guidance of the sorceress supreme Lina Inverse and her friends!"

_"Aw, damn. This is going to be a very long and extremely painful session of training. I can just imagine it already,"_ was what the brown haired teen thought to himself just as he continued to eat the rest of his meal throughout the rest of the evening with a rather frighten shudder going all around his spine like he thought about what tomorrow's tortures would bring to him when his training began.

**A/N:** Well, this is the first chapter of a story that would hopefully help put every one of my written works in order so that the readers wouldn't be confused with the storyline. Not only that, but most of my works seem to go from fun to serious sounding. I thought that something like this would help with getting some thoughts out of my mind. Not only that, but this story could either become completed or unchanged depending on how much comments that I receive for this story. Well, later!

Maurice A. Nigma


	2. Lessons Begin

**Lessons Begin**

As the sun arose to another good morning, almost everyone began to wake up at the rise of the morning light to see what could. Zelgadis, always up and about the moment the sun shone on his stone face, managed to scan his surroundings and check if there are any unwanted threats. The rest of his companions soon followed just before Miguel finally made himself known to the world by getting himself up from his sleeping bag and stretching. As he let out a huge yawn escape from his throat, the young man began to blink both of his eyes awake and look outside of his tent in order to see what the day has to offer. From what he could see, the teen saw the blue skinned chimera already beginning to look through what appears to be documents that could be a clue to a cure that he's been looking for since day one with Amelia right beside him. As he took a closer inspection of the scene he could've sworn that he saw a small shade of pink appearing on the older man's rock face as he noticed the young girl reading over his shoulder.

_"Not that it's a surprise for me to see that kinda reaction from Zel whenever he's anywhere near Amelia," _Miguel thought to himself just as he fully opened the tent's front door and emerged out into the world, revealing that he's only in the undershirt that came along with his armor that Lina and Sylphiel have bought for him a while back. _"Man, it sure does feel good to get out of that piece of armor literally weighing down on my shoulders. I've seriously got to talk to Lina or Sylphiel about changing into a different attire that would suit my body build as well as my speed. I know that anything that I would say might fall on deaf ears with Lina, but I could at least try to convince Sylphiel to let me try something different. I just hope that she's awake right now before that crazy little red head could..." _

Right before he could finish the rest of his thoughts, Miguel heard the yawning of the said red head that sounded loud enough to wake a bear in the middle of its hibernation season. The young man began to tremble with fear for when he heard these words come out straight of Lina Inverse's mouth, "Good morning, my sorcery student! Did ya have a good night's sleep 'cause today's the day that you get your first lessons with the one and only Lina Inverse!"

The young man gave out a huge gulp for as he turned towards the source of the voice and found himself face to face with the Enemy of All Who Live grinning at him like a rather mischievous monkey. The evil aura that she was giving off on her expression wasn't making the situation any better for him just as Miguel felt like he could die at any given moment. Right before he could have the chance to defend himself with his own words, or even have the chance to run like hell, the teen aged young man began to hear the voice of the Gourry suddenly coming out from behind a bush while at the same time giving out a huge yawn just as he rubbed his eyes, "Yawn! Man, Lina do you really have to yawn so loud? You could be almost as loud as Filia for when she transforms into a dragon and she's a gentle as they come. It's not as if today is anything important."

Right before he could have the chance to see the sorceress bashing her fist onto the clueless swordsman's skull, Miguel immediately began to take notice of a certain aroma in the air that he recognized to be the work of Sylphiel. _"Man, thank god for Sylphiel and her delicious breakfast!" _thought the young man just as he gave off a good sigh of relief just as he saw Lina and Gourry smelling the air around them and beginning to drool over the wonderful scent. _"If not for her, then I would be at the mercy of one of the most dangerous female characters in all of anime! Not to mention the most insane! Maybe she and Gourry would be so focused on their latest meal that she might actually forget..."_

All too soon, the young man's thoughts were cut short for when he heard the voice of Amelia saying to him with a rather excited tone within her voice, "Mr. Miguel! It's finally good that you've finally got up! Today's the day that a new warrior of justice receives the right to see that he has what it takes in order to endure the most...!"

Before he could allow the younger girl to finish her justice speech, Miguel quickly began to reply to her with a rather hasty and annoyed tone, "Alright! Alright! Alright, Amelia! Sheesh! I swear that your voice is almost loud enough for everyone in the entire world to hear. Hell, it would even be enough to wake the dead."

"I have to agree with the kid on that one," was what Zelgadis said to no one in particular just as his words managed to crack a small but unnoticeable smile on his stone face right before he continued right as he turned his full attention towards the outer worlder's direction. "Are you fully awake yet, pal? Lina's been excited and talking non-stop about how she's and I are going to help train you to be our very own personal apprentice who can learn any spell faster than any normal human being is capable of doing."

There was a small river of silence that crawled all over the campsite for when the blue skinned chimera said those words. But what was noticeable is the fact that Miguel himself is starting to quiver with both fear and anticipation at the training that the red head has in mind for him. _"Damn! Lina must be really serious if she's been ranting about training me into becoming a magic using teen that came from another world. But wait, Zel's going to help with the lesson too?" _

"Wait a minute, Zel. Just how is it that you were dragged into doing this anyway? From the way that you sounded last night, you didn't seem to thrilled about it when Lina mentioned that you were going to help," is what the young man blurted out to his older companion just as he saw the stoned man giving off a rather uncomfortable quiver.

"Sigh! You're better off not knowing. What I can tell you is that she plans on having me be the training dummy for one of your own little spell tests in case you progressed sooner than expected," was what the chimera said to him with a rather unenthusiastic sigh to his voice.

From the way that he heard the older man's voice, Miguel could already tell that it was going to be a rather long and difficult day ahead of him. When everyone turned their attentions towards the source of the addictive aroma in the air, they weren't surprised to see Sylphiel around in the fire cooking what seems to be another hearty meal in a decent sized pot for everyone to enjoy. They also weren't so surprised to see both Lina and Gourry quickly devouring a huge portion of their own given breakfast as well as fighting over who got what first or who's portion of food is it. To everyone else, this might seem like a normal routine for them to get used to. But to someone like Miguel, who was from a world where magic no longer existed, it was a sight to behold.

_"Just how those two were able to pack away all that food in one move is still beyond me," _the young man thought to himself just as he received a plate of his own breakfast from the young shrine maiden, who gave him a polite smile right before returning to fix the others their portions of breakfast. _"Still, the thought of that little girl, who has the power to destroy entire cities with the wave of her hand, training me on how to use magic is sort of scary. I mean, if it were anyone like Zel, I wouldn't be worried. Heck, I would even go with Sylphiel for the lessons and she's not good with attack spells. But I'm stuck with a red head who could be easily angered into causing the destruction around her wake if someone calls her a hack or flat chested. I'm going to die for sure! I know it!" _

Just as he finished those thoughts within his mind, the young man from another world began to hear the voice of the purple clad shrine maiden saying to him with a concerned, "Miguel, are you alright? You don't seem to be looking too well. I've noticed that you didn't touch your plate and asked if you are really hungry, but you didn't respond to me at all. Are you worried about what's going to happen with your first magic lesson with Lina today?"

As soon as he heard those words, Miguel snapped himself out of his thoughtful trance just in time to see the face of the beautiful young woman staring right at him with a concerned expression. After what seemed like a long hour of staring onto his female companion's features, the brown haired teen pulled his gaze away from her face for a brief moment just before turning back to notice the plate of food that was filled with eggs and a sort of meat that he had never noticed up until that moment. "Oh! Sorry about that, Sylphiel. I've just a lot on my mind regarding what Lina's going to do for my first lesson. But it's nothing to worry about," was what the young man responded to his friend's worried words in a half convinced tone just before he politely took his breakfast away from the young woman's hands before speaking again. "Thanks for the breakfast, by the way. I could hardly get enough of your good cooking. I think that the others would agree with that too."

With those words said, the outer worldly visitor smiled a bit for when his compliment made the purple clothed shrine maiden blush with flattery. He then turned his full attention towards his meal and his mouth nearly watered with the smell crawling up his nose. His stomach began to growl in hunger that caused him to blush a bit with embarrassment. When regaining his senses, Miguel began to take a spoonful of the food and took a good bite of it. Anyone who look at the face of the young man, they could tell that he was enjoying the meal within his mouth. His mind were blazing with fireworks as his thoughts were out of control with joy.

_"Oh, man! This is so good! Sylphiel really should apply as a cook! This food is better than anything that my mom would make. Hell, even tastes better than anything that I've ever tasted within the Hometown Buffet! But it also must be a real hard time for her to have to cook for two people with stomaches made of iron. Well, I should finish it as fast as I could right before Lina has the chance to think about the lesson plan that she has within her mind. Or worse, she might even steal the food right off of my plate! Like hell I would allow that to happen!" _

With those thoughts done within his mind, the brown haired young man began to biting at the food ravenously eating every portion that he could see or find. A moment later, all that was left on the clay plate was the silver rusted fork that he used to eat with. Miguel gave out a light and satisfied burp as he put down his plate just as he turned his full attention towards the shrine made and said to her, "Sylphiel, your food really does taste good. I mean, turn your full attention back towards both Lina and Gourry and you'll see what I mean."

True to his word, all attention was diverted towards both the red haired sorceress and the blond swordsman, who they saw are both stuffed and satisfied with their bellies full to their maximum. Even both Zelgadis and Amelia were surprised by the fact that both of their friends were able to completely satisfy their hunger without consuming the remaining supply of food. That was when a question within his mind began to arise within his thoughts. Something that has been bothering him since seeing the two plates of food empty in front of both Lina and Gourry.

"Sylphiel, can I ask you something? I've been wondering just how is it that you were able to keep those two full and satisfied without them having to ask for seconds? Just what exactly did you put in their food anyway?"

"Actually, I've been wondering about that sort of thing myself, kid," Zelgadis suddenly spoke out with a rather curious tone just as both Miguel and Sylphiel turned to see their friend, along with the princess of Seyruun, looking at their direction before speaking a bit more quietly. "Sylphiel, from the way that I've tasted your cooking this morning, I've noticed a certain taste within the food that has a unique texture that I've never experienced. Did you use some special spice or herb into their food that would allow them to lose their normal appetites?"

When the blue skinned man's words was heard by the young older woman, everyone could clearly see the embarrassed look on her face right before she spoke, "Well, I've actually come across this special type of herb as of late while I was shopping in a nearby town getting some groceries for dinner at my Uncle's home and I've stumbled upon this spice that was created in order to cure someone suffering from hunger. I thought that it would be the perfect way for all of us to save on food by having both Lina and Gourry eat the food that I've placed in their breakfast earlier."

"Well, that would certainly explain the satisfied expressions on both Miss Lina and Mr. Gourry's faces," Amelia quietly replied as she kept her eyes carefully on both the sorceress and swordsman who she still saw wore peaceful and content expressions on their faces. "I mean, just look at their faces. You could hardly tell that they're hungry."

"Well, I for one am glad that Sylphiel did it because now I won't have to deal with what the little wacko has in mind for my first lesson," was what Miguel said to his three companions as quietly as he could just as he turned his attention towards the both Lina and Gourry. "I don't even know what I was even thinking for when I agreeing to allow her to teach me magic in the first place."

"Well, for starters, we agreed with the fact that you need to work on your concentration, kid," was what the blue skinned human chimera said to the brown haired young man while at the same time giving off a rather serious tone right before giving off a annoyed sigh. "Sighs! If she's not going to be starting this session, then that means that I have to be the one to start things off. Get yourself ready in a few minutes, kid 'cause your first lesson is about to start. And before you say anything, think about how lucky you are at the moment that Lina's asleep."

"But..." was all that Miguel could say to Zelgadis right before the chimera walked right out of the area towards a clearly just as the teen gave out a sigh of defeat. "Sigh! Well, I guess that I should start getting ready. I mean, it could be a whole lot worse. Lina would be the one cracking the whip instead of Zel."

As a response to those words, everyone else remaining in the area heard the mumbled ramblings of the now sleeping sorceress saying in a low and yet demanding tone, "Zzzzzz...no, kid! You're suppose to cast a Flare Arrow! Not a carrot! Zzzzzz!"

Amelia, Sylphiel, and Miguel began to sweatdrop at what they just heard the sleeping red head said in her sleep. They could clearly see Gourry enjoying his slumber quietly just as he mumbled a bit and quickly fell back to sleep. "Well, Mr. Miguel, judging from the way things are now, I'd say that you're much better taking your first lesson with Mr. Zelgadis than with Miss Lina," was what Amelia had said to the couple right as they both nodded in agreement.

Just as the new magic using student began to walk towards towards the tent and prepared to entered it, he was stopped briefly by Sylphiel for when he heard her saying to him in a quiet tone, "Miguel, you don't have to wear the armor that Lina and I have bought for you if you don't want to. It might make you feel a bit more comfortable if you wore something that might help you maneuver a bit. There's something in your tent that I've placed earlier right before you woke. You'd better hurry if want to make it in time for your first lesson, Miguel."

With those words done, the brown haired man gave the dark haired woman a grateful smile on his face right before he opened the tent and entered it. After about ten minutes of getting ready, Miguel emerged out of the tent wearing what appears to be a rather dark bluish type of outfit complete with tunic and a hood in case of rough weather like rain would come right out or the chance of snow baring down on them. Something that sort of resembled a bit like that of Zelgadis other than the difference in color scheme and absence of cape. When he saw both Lina and Gourry still asleep after their filling meal, the young man carefully walked pass them quietly not yet ready to wake them up.

_"Especially Lina, who's still having ideas of what she might do to me in my very first lesson," _he thought to himself just as he managed get away from both the sorceress and swordsman quietly right as he headed towards the clearly that Zelgadis went to. _"Personally, I would have preferred to have Zel as my magic teacher other than that little flat chested lunatic. Sure, he could be a boring stiff, but at least that isn't as painful as what Lina has in store for me. Ugh."_

With those thoughts done within his mind, Miguel managed to safely get himself away from the self proclaim beautiful female sorcery genius and not so bright swordsman just as he marched himself towards the field where Zelgadis is waiting for him. Just as he made it to the seemingly abandoned non green open field, the young man immediately scanned his surroundings in order to find his magic teacher. As expected, he saw the blue skinned man sitting on a rock waiting patiently for his student to come while at the same time seemingly talking to both Amelia and Sylphiel about something. Whatever it was, it seemed to have made the shrine maiden of Siaraag blush with embarrassment right before he spoke up.

"Yo! I'm ready for my first lesson, teach! We can start for whenever you're ready!" was what the young teen shouted out to the trio right before he turned his full attention towards Sylphiel's embarrassed expression. "Uh, did I miss something while I was getting ready? What were you all talking about that made Sylphiel's face blushing as red as a cherry that I had since I was a kid?"

"Oh, Mr. Miguel! It was really nothing," was what Amelia responded to the young man with a rather amusing grin crawling all over her face. "It's just that Miss Sylphiel was just asking Mr. Zelgadis about what he's planning to do for your first lesson and seeing whether or not that they're going to be pretty painful and all of a sudden, she just started blushing for when we asked that if you were her boyfriend or something."

"MISS AMELIA!! You know very well that that's not true!" was what the purple clad shrine maiden shouted to the little princess of Seyruun right before clasping her mouth shut and blushed just as she realized what she said. "I mean, I'm just concerned about whether or not that Miguel would be able to perform using magic spells and swords without the aid of his Star Sword."

"Star Sword? That's about sixth time that we've heard you guys talking about that. But I think that we should save that bit after our first lesson. So would you two please leave us alone?" was what Zelgadis said just as the two females walked away, leaving him alone with his student just before speaking again. "Miguel, time for you first lesson of the day. Please take a seat for we're going to cover some of the basics of magic."

Miguel did as he was told just as managed to seat himself on the ground and turned his attention towards his teacher, waiting for his lesson to begin. His patience is rewarded for when he heard the blue skinned man speaking in a rather professional matter, "Well, to start things off, let's talk about the most of what types of magic are within this world. Be sure that you listen well, kid, because what we're going through some material that would be necessary for you to remember if you're ever in any situation. Now, I'm sure that you must know by now from your meeting with Sylphiel that white magic focuses more on healing, purification, and exorcisms. But did you know that the magic she uses is most drawn from the pure forces of this world?"

The brown haired student began to nod in response to the chimera's question just before his teacher continued, "Well, long before the War of the Monster's Fall, people were once able to use holy magic drawn from the powers of the Gods to fight against any Monsters threatening harm the innocent. However, from what I could hear from Sylphiel for when she told me of her adventures with you and those talking animal friends of yours, she was able to use her magic no matter what world she was in. This leads me to believe that the magic that we're using isn't derived directly from the Dark Lords and Gods of this world. But let's continue on with the lecture.

"As you might have guessed from the moment you've meant Lina, that black magic is used for casting attack spells and placing curses on one's opponents. Not only that, but most of those spells draw their power from the Dark Lords and negative forces of our world. But if what happened with Sylphiel's magic holds true to other worlds, then you should be able to cast that sort of magic in other worlds as well.

"Now lastly, we have is shaman or spirit magic of our world. This type of magic's spells draws their power from a place called the Astral Plane. These spells involve using elemental magic as well as using the powers of a person's own spirit in order to perform attack spells as well as exorcisms and purification. The Ra-Tilt which you just learned to use is a spell of great power that takes long months of training and discipline to learn and master. But all of these arts of magic have one thing in common and that is the fact that they require a lot of energy from the spell caster as well as great concentration to perform the spell. Which brings us to this point in our lesson. Stand up for a moment and do exactly as I tell you to."

As he noticed Zelgadis finishing his part of the lecture, Miguel did as he was told for as he got himself off of the ground and heard the blue skinned man saying to him, "Now, I would like for you to try firing the Ra-Tilt that you've learned for when you've fought that Monster back in Seyruun. Fire it off that open clearing in front of you. I want to see just how focused you are for when you use that spell and we'll work our way from there."

The brown haired teen went wide eyed for when he heard those words coming from the seriously strict chimera mouth. Right as he turned to face his magic instructor, Miguel saw that the blue skinned man is waiting patiently for his student to do his assigned task, his foot tapping on the solid ground of the clearing that they're in. "Wait! You want me to perform one of the most powerful spells that I've learned on that clearing right in front of me, Zel?! But what if...?"

The young man's words were cut short for when he saw Zelgadis' face turning into a strict expression just as he heard him saying with a rather quiet but harsh tone almost to that of a military instructor, "No buts about it, kid! If you want me to know how exactly you should be trained in order to use magic properly, then I suggest that you do as I say! It's either learn from me or take beatings from Lina!"

As soon as he heard those words, the outer worldly human began to shudder at the thought of the red haired sorceress making him lift two heavy boulders of stone while at the same time throwing a barrage of Fireballs at him just to keep him steady. Miguel soon shook that thought out of his mind long enough to sigh with defeat just as he said to his teacher with a rather annoyed tone, "Sigh! Fine! I'll do it!"

With those words said and done, the brown haired teen turned his attention away from his magic teacher and faced the open clearly where no sign of life would be seen or detected. After a long moment of trying to remember the words to the spell that he just learned a while back, Miguel finally got the words down within his mind and positioned himself to casting the Ra-Tilt. As soon as he was ready, the young teen began to chant the words just as he felt energy gather around his hands:

_"Source of all souls which dwell in the eternal and infinite._

_Everlasting flame of blue, _

_let the power hidden within my soul _

_be called forth here and now!"_

When he opened both of his eyes, the magic user in training saw huge amounts of what appears to be silver energy radiating from within both of his hands like flames from a torch light or campfire. Zelgadis was calmly watching this speckle from a distant but inside, he was amazed at the fact that his student was able to emit such beautiful silver light from within his hands. From far away, both Sylphiel and Amelia were hypnotized at the sight that is in front of them. Right as he felt the energy filled to the maximum within his own hands, Miguel began to shout out the two words that would complete the spell as he aimed both of his arms towards the clearing, "RA-TILT!"

As soon as those words were shouted out, the young man found both of his hands erupting with energy of flaming energy within his hands. But what happened next afterward was something that he didn't anticipate. Before he could have the chance to understand what was happening, Miguel soon found himself experiencing what appears to be a very powerful explosion right in front of him that sent him flying backwards. The speed that he was traveling at would have rivaled that of a high speeding motorcycle if he were back in his own dimension. The next thing that he knew was the fact that he felt his back colliding with something solid yet not entirely frail just as he was being imprinted against it.

Feeling his entire body ache with pain, Miguel soon heard the voice of Sylphiel shouting out to him with a rather horrified tone, "Oh, my...Miguel! I'm coming!"

Hearing those words coming out of the young woman's mouth, the young man began to slowly try to pry his body off of what he saw is the surface of a huge tree that he was embedded in. Right as he was near on the verge of losing consciousness, he felt slender hands being placed over his chest right before seeing a gentle white light engulfing his sight. He then saw the bright radiance increasing intensely for a single moment right before it faded. Before he knew what had happened, Miguel felt himself regaining use of his body just as he struggled to get himself free from the surface of the giant tree that he was once trapped in.

Just as he finally was able to see that he was imbedded within a huge oak tree, the brown haired teen looked around his surroundings just in time to see the worried Sylphiel right next to him along with Amelia who looked just as worried as her older companion. Miguel could also see the thoughtful and yet less concerned expression on Zelgadis' face for when he came to. That was when he felt what appear to be small splitters of wood imprinted right on the surface of his clothing of choice as well as some on his hands.

"Miguel! Are you alright?! Are you hurt?!" was what he heard the shrine maiden of Siaraag frantically asking him while feeling her slender hands checking up on his arm, which he saw had numerous other wooden splitters on it but didn't feel any seriously penetrate his skin. "Just what in the world happened? Both me and Amelia saw you trying to use the Ra-Tilt like you did back at Seyruun and then next thing we saw was the spell exploding right in front of you before you collided with that tree."

"Hmm. I figured as much," was what the blue skinned chimera said with a thoughtful tone to his voice. "It seems to me that the kid has what it takes to cast and use magic spells. The only thing that he lacks is concentration in order use and control the spell properly. Him using the Ra-Tilt the way he did just now is proof of that."

"Man, don't I believe it. My body's still aching after ramming my back into this huge tree," was what Miguel replied to Zelgadis after managing to get himself off of the huge plant right as he managed to stand on his two feet and stared back at his teacher with a rather annoyed expression. "Damn it, Zel! Why didn't you just warn me about what would happen to me after using the Ra-Tilt?! I could've been killed!"

"That's right, Mr. Zelgadis! You really shouldn't have one of your students have to demonstrate a spell that could put his or her life in danger!" Amelia responded to her older male companion while at the same time in one her justice speeches. "A teacher should watch out for the well being of his or her own students in order for...!"

"Alright! Alright, Amelia! We get the picture! Zel's a tight teacher and we don't need to be told twice about it! Sheesh!" was what the brown haired young man said to the hyperactive princess while at the same time rubbing his sore back. "Man, the way that I slammed my back against that tree is like me having one of my rough housing fights with my cousins. Good thing that I have a strong back or otherwise I would have been paralyzed from the leg down."

"Well, now that that's taken care of, I think now we know where we should start on your lessons," was what Zelgadis said with a calm manner just as he coughed in order to get his student's attention. "We would start with some meditation lessons in order to clear your mind of anything that seems to be conflicting your mind, kid. Otherwise, you might continue having your face blow in front of you by the very spells you've learned. We'll take it slow and go from there. Is that understood?"

Right before he could have the chance to even retort about what the blue skinned chimera said to him, Miguel soon heard the voice of the one person that he didn't want to meet or take lessons from, "Well, in that case, it looks to me that the kid really needs a lesson on how to clear that thick head of his by the one and only female sorcery genius, Lina Inverse! Also, it's payback time for not waking me up sooner so that you could start your lesson!"

As soon as he heard those words, the brown haired young man turned slowly and saw the grinning and enthusiastic face of the red haired sorceress looking at him almost like a teen aged girl would for when she sees a very expensive dress that she wants to wear for her first date. _"Uh oh! I'm really in for it now!" _was what Miguel thought to himself just as the shadow of Lina Inverse began to engulf his entire being just as he saw her cracking her knuckles while seeing the others looking back at the scene with fear written all over their faces. _"Help me!"_

**A/N: **Sorry it took me so long to update, guys. It's just that trying to think of new ideas for this story is harder than I thought. Not to mention the fact that my Math 112 teacher giving me ton of homework assignments didn't help with matters. In any case, I hope that all of you would enjoy this chapter of the fic 'cause the next one would be rather short but sweet. I feel like that I shouldn't bore my readers with long chapters. In any case, I hope that I would rely on **Generation-A** for their continued support as well as giving me ideas. Later!


	3. Meditation and Solution, Lina Style

**Meditation and Solution, Lina Style**

"_Okay, clear the mind of all distracting thoughts. Don't think about anything that will get you out of thought. Just focus on your breathing and clear your mind. Man, I'd probably get better treatment at home from my older sister than from..."_

That was all that Miguel thought right before he received a whack on head by a what feels like a blunt object being struck his head with minimum but decent force. The brown haired teen began to rub at the spot on his head where the object was collided. "Damn it, Lina! You don't have to hit me that hard!" he said to the red-haired sorceress just as he turned towards her direction seeing his teacher looking down on him with what appears to be a blunt but decent styled wooden stick that looked like it was just picked off of the ground at random.

"Well, tough luck, kid! That's what you get for allowing me to over sleep with that big lunk head while trying to get away from your first lesson from me!" was what Lina said to her student just as she pointed the end of large stick right towards his face and giving him a rather grim expression. "Now, let's start over again with the breathing exercises that I've explained to you earlier. Block out any unnecessary thoughts that have been flowing through your mind and try to relax. I mean, there's nothing to worry about around here so there shouldn't be any distractions."

"Oh, and with you as both my teacher and bodyguard, how could I could be worried?" Miguel responded to the the petite girl with a sarcastic tone just as he continued sitting in a Indian position. "But is it really necessary for you to be carrying that huge wooden stick? I mean, what if I get seriously hurt and end up having a crick in my neck or back?"

"Oh, don't be a pansy, Miguel. Besides, We could always have Sylphiel heal you if you're feeling a bit uncomfortable," the red-haired sorceress said to her student while at the same time giving him a rather mischevous grin on her face. "I know that you would like nothing more than to have that girl massage that aching back of yours after a long day's worth of training. Now, be quiet and get those thoughts out of your head!"

After blushing at the words that the small female said to him, the brown haired teen finally gave up and resumed his training. As he closed both of his eyes, Miguel could clearly hear the voices of the rest of the gang saying what they have in their minds. Sylphiel's the first that he heard speak.

"Miss Lina! I can't believe that you would say something like that! Both me and Miguel are just friends and you know that! Besides, don't you think that you should be more gentle on Miguel? You're only making his concentration worst by beating him with that stick!"

"As much as I hate to admit it, but Sylphiel does have a point, Lina," was what he heard his other teacher, Zelgadis, saying the young red haired female while at the same time sounding a bit confused at what they're looking at. "It's good for when someone needs to work on his or her concentration, but this is rather ridiculous."

"Hey, if you have any better ideas on letting the kid know that he's making a mistake, then go on ahead and be my guest so we can see if you could try to do better, Zel!" was what he heard the young sorceress saying to her older companion while at the same time seeing her once again turning her full attention towards her student and giving him a rather calm expression on her face before speaking again. "Alright, let's take this from the top, Miguel. Close your eyes and take deep breaths. Clear your mind of any idol thoughts that's disturbing your mind."

The young man did as he was instructed just as he closed both lids of his eyes and took in a deep breath. His sight has been shrouded within the blackness. _"Alright, just breathe in and clear your mind, Miguel. Focus only on your breathing and nothing else. Just keep your mind on your breathing and clear your mind of anything else. Focus on only your breathing. Focus." _

As soon as he felt all of the tension within his mind being released, the brown haired young man continued on focusing with keeping his mind blank of all distracting thoughts. All that he could feel at the moment is the fact that he seems more relaxed and calm than he was before. _"You know, perhaps this isn't so bad," _Miguel thought just as he continued with his meditation. _"I mean, this sort of thing is something that I would need in case I would be stressed out whenever I can't think clearly in one of my college classes. It's only been a month and already those classes are starting to get on my nerves. I should be glad that..." _

The magic student's thoughts were soon cut short for when he felt what appears to be a stinging sensation over coming him train of thought. Of course, it didn't take a genius to figure out that it was his own teacher, who he turned to see giving him an annoyed expression on her face. "Damn it, kid! I told you that you should only be focusing on your breathing than on everything else! Augh!"

"Hey, don't blame me for messing up! I wasn't the one who's being held at point by a crazy little girl with a strong stick!" was what the young man said to the tiny sorceress, not caring one bit that he's up against the most dangerous person in the world.

What he said really got Lina riled up which got her to make a ball of fire appear right out of the palm of her hands. Miguel wasn't at the very least scared off by the scary look that the female magic user is giving him. Right before she could have the chance to launch the spell in her hands towards her student, the riled up girl was soon in the clutches of Gourry who, despite not being the smartest person in the group, knows just how destructive she could be for when she launches one of her fireballs at someone. "Gourry! Just what the hell are you doing?!" Lina shouted out right as she struggled to free herself from the blonde's strong arms. "Let me go this instant so that I could teach this little smart ass a thing or two about respect!"

"No way, Lina! Last time you did that, you nearly blew up the whole restraraunt with everyone else in it!" was what the swordsman said to his companion just as he struggled with keep the sorceress restrainted.

"For once, he's right, Lina," Zelgadis said while at the same time joining in the blonde with trying to calm down the Dragon Spooker by restrainting her legs. "The kid isn't going to just learn to meditate and clear his mind over night by you frying him to a crisp with a Fireball. Calm down and try to at least reason with him."

"Zelgadis is right, Miss Lina! What you're doing to Miguel right now isn't making things better!" Sylphiel added into her stone skinned companion's words with a rather scornful tone in her voice. "Why don't you try to ask him about what is it on his mind that has him so distracted? I mean, he got me to open up more with my feelings."

Just as a blush appeared on the young shrine maiden's face, Amelia went up to the plate just as she began to dramtically put herself within one of her own justice poses just as she spoke, "Miss Sylphiel is right, Miss Lina! A warrior of justice should knwo that using such enforcement just isn't right for one's student! One must be a positive influence in order to achieve her pupil's confidence and respect."

When she heard those words come out of the justice fanatic's mouth, the female red head slammed the back of her fist towards the swordsman's skull freeing herself from his strong arms. "Alright! Alright! We'll do things your way, guys. But if it doesn't work if that guy starts making wise cracks, I'm throwing a Fireball at him."

Everyone but Miguel just sweatdrops at the comment just before they see the sorceress walking towards the young man's direction. From what they could all see, the brown haired apprentice appeared to be feeling down or at least thinking about something that has come into his mind. Lina spoke out to her student with a calm tone, "Look, Miguel. Perhaps I was a little too rough on you there and went a little too fast. Maybe if we could talk about what it is that you have on your mind that has been eating you lately, then perhaps we could start from there so that we could try to find some way to get you to train properly. Sound good to ya?"

However, all that the red haired young woman got as a response from her student was only still silence for as she saw him still facing his eyes down on the ground. Not being the patient type for too long, Lina decided to just skip being nice with the brown haired young man and be blunt in her usual matter, "Alright, I'm through with all of that positive reienforcement crap and cutting right to the chase! It's time for a guy like you to get off of your lazy butt right now and pull yourself together! You're not going to get any training done by just sitting on your ass all day and thinking about how you messed up! So just get yourself off the ground and say something before I really get angry!"

There was a moment for when the entire gang waited for the young outer worldly teen to respond to the red haired sorceress's little rant. After what seemed like a half-hour passing through the training ground, Miguel finally raised his head from the ground and facing the sorceress with a rather down expression on his face. "Heh! You know, Lina, you sound just like both my parents were for when the two of them wanted me to get everything right at home and school."

Everyone, including Lina, became speechless at what Miguel just spoke out to them. Before the red haired female could ask about what brown haired young man meant by, Amelia beat her to it just as she asked, "What do you mean, Mr. Miguel? What is it that your parents do to you that..."

Right before the older female could finish the rest of her sentence, it was cut short by the brown haired young man for when he started speaking again, "It's been happening to me since I was a little kid. I don't know when it started, but for when I was somewhere around eight years old for when my older sister started slacking around in her school work. Both my parents weren't quite...themselves at the time and would give my older sister rather harsh punishments. During that time, I always pushed myself in my studies to prevent myself from getting the kind of punishments that she has to endure. Not only that, but for when I'm in my classes in school, I always go straight to the work without asking any questions whatsoever. So, in short, I'm sort of a rather serious guy for when it comes to his studies and doesn't have enough time in the day to go out and have fun like a regular guy under the fear of my parent's reaction towards it."

After hearing those words coming from the outer worldly teen's mouth, the rest of the group just stayed silent. A moment passed throughout the training grounds right before Gourry spoke up. "Man, and I thought that Lina here has a tough time with dealing with a strict family."

When she heard those words coming out of the blonde's mouth, Lina did the only thing that she would do to the blonde whenever he said something offensive or stupid in her presence: slam her bare fist towards his thick skull with remarkable strength. As soon as the swordsman was on the ground rubbing onto his head to rid himself of the pain, the fiery sorceress turned her full attention back towards Miguel with a rather confused and calm right as she spoke. "...Okay. Let's see if I get this straight, kid. Are you trying to tell all of us that you were raised in a strict environment that has you living in fear of receiving unmentionable punishments that your parents gave to your sister if you don't do well in your studies?"

As the brown haired teen silently nodded his head in response, the Dragon Spooker took a moment in order to absorb what she had heard right before she spoke with a rather jokely sarcastic tone of voice, "Man, and here I thought that Zel is usually the stiff of our group for when it comes to getting things done all because of his obsession with finding a cure for his body."

"Hey! I resent that!" the bluish grey chimera responded to the red haired girl's words with a hint of annoyance within his tone of voice.

"Miss Lina! That's not the least bit funny! This is a serious matter that Miguel is dealing with!" Sylphiel spoke to her with a harsh but gentle tone just as she went over to Miguel's side and put her arms around his shoulders without knowing it.

"Well, that's exactly his problem, Sylphiel. He's just too serious for his own good," the Dragon spooker responded to the purple clad shrine maiden right before turning her full attention towards Miguel. "Miguel, can you tell me what was going through your mind for when Zel had you fire off that Ra-Tilt that you've cast a while ago?"

At first the young man was a bit reluntant with saying what was on his mind for right before the explosion in front of his being. But after looking up to see the patient and determined look on Lina's face, the young teen finally caved for when he said, "Well, when Zelgadis just shouted at me like he was my personal trainer, an image of my father yelling at me just came at me. Before I knew it the spell that I was casting suddenly blew up right in my face and I was smacked right into that tree."

"I see. Well, it seems that we've found the answer to our little problem here," the self proclaimed sorcery genius muttered to herself just as she clapped both of her hands before speaking to everyone else again. "The problem with Miguel here is clear as day. It's obvious that the guy here has suffered from enormous amounts of fear and stress throughout his life in his studies in his own world through his parents. It would pretty much mess around with anyone's confidence as well as their concentration and social life."

As emphasis to her point, Lina turned her full towards Zelgadis, who she saw giving her a death glare that would have sent a chill down her spine if not given the fact that she is the Bandit Killer and would blow him away if she wanted to. "Ahem! Now, as I was saying," the sorceress continued, "I have a solution that's so simple, even Gourry would've figured it out eventually."

"Hmm? Did you say something, Lina?" was what the blonde swordsman said to the petite girl while at the same time rubbing the sore spot on his face that was given to him earlier.

The Dragon Spooker ignored her muscle headed companion and heard Amelia saying to her, "Well, what is it, Miss Lina? What should we do about Mr. Miguel's case?"

"Well, what we're going to do, Amelia, is..." the petite red haired paused a moment in a suspensful tone while the others, Miguel and Sylphiel included, waited for her to continue just as she spoke again. "...going on a little break!"

With those words said and done, everyone else in the group began to collaspe to the ground with both shock and bewilderment. Both Miguel and Sylphiel, unlike the rest of their friends, were laid right on top of one another while the rest were practically piling on one another trying to break free. Zelgadis is the first to speak his mind after recovering from the shock while trying to get both Amelia and Gourry off from on top of him.

"Wh-What brought that about, Lina?! I thought that you were planning on nothing but training the kid to learn how to use magic spells! No way that you could give up on the idea that quickly!"

"Oh, shut up, Zel and allow me to explain this!" the red-haired sorceress harshly said to the blue skinned chimera right as she saw her friends trying to get up from the ground before speaking again. "From what the way that I saw this kid firing that Ra-Tilt, I noticed a sort of disturbed or bothered look on his face. It could be that something within his own past is disturbing him and from what he told all of us, the only way we could cure it is with a vacation."

"But...But...But Lina, how in the world are you planning on doing that?" was what the blonde swordsman asked his petite companion with both a confused and frighten at what the red head would say.

"Well, it just so happens that I have the answer to your question, Gourry," Lina answered with a sly fox like grin while at the same pulling out what appears to be a huge poster out from behind her cape. "All of you feast your eyes on this!"

As everyone looked at the poster that the small girl had pulled out, they all seemed to be surprised with the fact that it was has the picture of what appears to be a man and woman, clad in bathing suits, enjoying themselves on a beach while looking at the sunset while holding hands. When he found his voice again as well as gently push himself away from a blushing red Sylphiel, Miguel began to speak, "I-Is this a sick joke, Lina? Because, if I'm not mistaken, what you're showing all of us is an add to some sort of resort or festival."

"You hit the nail right in the head, kid," the red haired sorceress answered to the young man with a sort of amused tone of voice before she continued. "What you're looking at here is the ideal spot to start your little vacation without a care in a world."

_"Oh, hell. I have a really bad feeling about this," _was all that Miguel thought to himself right before having a feeling of dread within his gut that tells him that what Lina has in mind is anything but pleasant.

**A/N:** Well, cheers to chapter 3 of this story, everyone. This chapter is based on an idea that I've got since my stressful days in college. KK(KoineKid) is actually the one who encouraged me to do the one thing that I seemed to forget to do all this time: to have fun with the fictions that I write. I also want to hear from all of you about what I could do to lighten up. I hope that the advice that you all give me would be of some help with trying to get my chapters up as soon as possible like in the old days. Especially with Bass's Assault so don't expect another update within this story anytime too soon. Well, later and hope to hear good reviews. Later!

Maurice A. Nigma


	4. Vacation or Training?

**Vacation or Training?**

_"Is this suppose to be a part of my training or is Lina trying to find an excuse to goof around?" _was what Miguel thought to himself while at the same time emerging himself from the deep waters of the ocean that he's swimming in now.

He, along with the Slayers, were now in the middle of enjoying a relaxing vacation that the red haired sorceress suggested three days before. The young teen could see that the beach resort that they've checked themselves into right before heading to the beach. He remembered the trouble that they had at the reception desk when the female clerk asked if Zelgadis was a monster or a performer dressed in a play, which in turn caused the chimera to become a bit irritated trying the best he could not to draw his sword. Another embarrassing moment is when the woman had commented on how could the group be taking along a young man like Miguel who appeared to be young for them to be with. Lina happened to say that he was a distant relative of hers and comments on their genetic heritage. The brown haired teen twitched at that and decided to let the comment slide afterward.

_"Okay, I'll admit that despite just reaching the age of sixteen, I appear to be a bit young for my age. Not to mention being a bit tall for compared to most of the others. But that's no excuse for the crazy nut to be saying that I'm her long lost distant cousin. Speaking of which, where's Lina anyway?" _

Finishing his thoughts, Miguel scanned his surroundings in search of the red haired sorceress. What he saw from his view within the waters of the ocean are the others relaxing on the beach in their own way save for Zelgadis who is near the shore in his usual attire reading near a table with a parsol on the table. He saw Gourry sitting on a laid out towel conked out and snoring as the sun baked his skin while he took his nap. As for both Sylphiel and Amelia, he saw the two of them bathing in the sun's rays each having a towel for her to lay on. At the sight, the teen would've maybe fainted for when he saw the two shrine maidens in their bathing suits relaxing in the sun's embrace.

While diving deep into the water, Miguel could've sworn that he could feel almost faint about what he saw. _"Dammit! Why am I acting like a wuss all because I saw two of the girls sunbathing while in very attractive looking swimsuits...?! Augh! I did it again! Just what in the hell is the purpose for this vacation that Lina set up anyway? She says that I need to relax, but this..." _

Right before he could finish the rest of his thoughts, the brown haired teen felt what appears to be a pair of lean and yet thin arms wrapping themselves around his upper body while at the same time preventing his own limbs from moving in order to escape. Just as he struggled to break free from whomever had him in a deathhold that nearly drowned him, Miguel felt himself being released from his captor only to hear what sounds like manical female laughter coming from behind him. As soon as he got himself out of the water and took a few moments to breathe, the young man turned himself around just in time to see Lina Inverse in near hystrical laughter, clad in her two piece red swimsuit but his annoyance soon made draw his attention away from her current attire.

"Dammit! What in the hell do you think you're doing, Lina?! Nearly drowning me in the ocean with that inhuman strength of yours?!" was what the teen shouted while at the same time ignoring the fact that she is one of the most hot tempered female sorceresses in the world.

"Well, excuse me for having fun with you, kid," the red head said while at the same time causing the young man to become a bit more annoyed at the name that he was referred to. "It's not my fault that you let your guard down while stairing at both Sylphiel and Amelia in their bathing suits. And here I thought of Xellos as the fruitcake pervert."

As soon as he heard those words, Miguel did what he would always do for whenever someone either berated or made fun of him for when it comes to seeing attractive girls in bathing suits. A few seconds later, his entire face soon turned to the color of a ripe red tomato stuttering in utter embarrassment. "L-L-Lina! That was a ch-cheap shot! Y-Y-You know very w-w-well that I'm not th-th-that kind of person! Not t-t-that I'm denying that b-b-both Amelia and Sylphiel are..."

The young teen immediately shut his mouth in order to keep himself from revealing something that he might regret later on for when he's on the recieving end of Lina's fist. True while Amelia, being clad with in a rather revealing and yet conservative two piece white and pink bathing suit, is rather attractive young woman with her...natural assets spilling out, it wasn't what got to him. It's when he has his eyes set on Sylphiel that his face started to go really red. Despite being in a one piece dark violet swim suit, the lovely young shrine maiden was able to shine brightly against the sun's rays while recieving her tan. If not for the fact that he's in the presence of two experienced and powerful spell casters, he would've drooled over the sight openly at the dark haired woman's presence. But the young man knew that when drooling over attractive woman near someone like Lina Inverse, it would be like committing suicide.

As he brought himself out of his trance-like state, Miguel soon began to remember the original reason why he was out of the water in the first place. He would have been embarrassed too if not only the fact that he is clad in a pair of dark blue swimming trunks but that his body showed just how much he weighed. True that his body isn't what most people would call a body builder, but it wasn't a stick like most people would say for when they see it. However, all of the years of being made fun of by teens within his high school days has brought some doubt and awkwardness about his appearance when in swimming trunks. And Lina's teasing about his personal life isn't making it easier.

"Yeah! Yeah! Whatever you say, kid," was what he heard the petite red head saying to him while at the same time waving off his words with flick of her hand. "In any case, you let your guard down for when I was underwater. Just what is wrong with you? Are you slow or are you blind when swimming in water?"

"Heh! Heh! Heh! Well, funny you should say that, Lina. Uh...well, you see...," that was all that the young man could say right before he heard voices of young females shout out to him as if he were like a Hollywood movie star or something.

_"Oh! Look at that boy over there, girls! Isn't he just the cutest thing! It makes me want to hold him tight within my arms!" _

_"I have to agree! I bet that he would be a total hunk if he puts more meat into his bones like that cute muscle blonde sleeping over there!" _

As soon as he heard those words, Miguel instantly began to feel a bit of annoyance crawling up his entire body. Under normal circumstances, if he were an ordinary teenaged boy, he would have been pleased and rather flattered with the compliments. Of course, when it came to the matter of someone poking at his body weight, it was a different story. As far as he could remember, the brown haired youth has always been picked on for the lack of muscle on his body by both students from school and familly alike. By the time that he'd reached high school, Miguel had developed a rather sensitive side or temper about his body weight, depending on whomever sees his reaction as. No one, may it be man or woman, is safe for when it comes to his body weight.

Of course, the young man didn't get the chance to snap his words towards the two young women that spoke about him for when he felt the presence of Chaos Energy within the area. Being familiar with sensing where the energy of the Chaos Emerald came from throughout his time spent with Sonic and the gang, Miguel immediately began to mentally home in on where the source of the energy came from. As it turns out, the energy wasn't enough to get the attention of any nearby Monsters that would want to swarm in on the public beach resort in order to find the source of the disturbance. What surprised him is for when he is facing Sylphiel's direction, the young man noticed a rather light but noticable red aura being emitted around her body. But what he really noticed the most is the fact that what he felt from within the usually meek and gentle shrine maiden is great amounts of violent Chaos Energy growing from within her along with a rather annoyed and angered expression on her pretty face.

_"What the hell?! Just how is she able to emit that much energy?! For that matter, just how long was she able to hide it all this time without me or the others knowing about it? No doubt that it's way too much for her to handle," _was what Miguel thought while at the same time seeing her sights set towards where the two girls were walking and giggling. _"Would this have something to do with the fact that those girls were trying to flirt with me from afar? Why would she be jealous of girls who are obiviously trying to either flirt with me or make fun of me because of my body weight? Not only that, but why is this type of energy rather violent and..." _

Right before he could have the chance to put in more tibits about what he thought about the situation, he heard one of the girls that was fawning over him shouting out to him, "Hey, cutie! Why don't you and your muscle friend come with us so that we...!"

The girl's words were soon cut short for when he saw the imposing figure of Lina stomping towards their direction with what appears to be a orb of fiery energy just as she spoke to them with a dangerous tone within her voice, "Hey! If any of you little skanks ever want to live to see your next birthdays, I would suggest that you both run out of here as fast as you can before I send this fireball right towards your...!"

He didn't hear the rest of the threat that the red head gave to the flirting young women for when in a flash she was restrained by Zel, who is now well aware of situation, using his enhanced strength to keep the sorceress from incinerating the two girls. At her threats, Miguel could see that Sylphiel starting to act more like her usually timid self and ran over to aid the rock skinned man at restraining Lina. As she got closer, the young man could've sworn that he noticed a small smile of satisfaction on the young woman's face just as she did her best to console her friend into relaxing.

_"Not to mention the fact that when I'm close to her for a second, I don't sense any trace of that Chaos Energy within her like I did before,"_ he thought to himself just as he saw the face of the once furious red head now settling down to the point where she won't threaten or kill anyone. _"I guess I must've just imagined it seeing as being able to hear the threats that Lina threw at those girls can be a little frighten. Hell, she could even make an experienced army drill sergent tremble to his or her knees if she were like this back home. But I could've sworn I felt something within Sylphiel that is different from what either I or the others had experienced in the past..." _

His thoughts were once again cut short for when he heard the commanding voice of Lina Inverse shouting, with what sounds like amusement, towards his direction, "Aqua Create!!"

The young man didn't have time react for when he soon found himself being soaked in a huge torrent of cold water pouring down on him like a waterfall would to someone when he or she is soaking beneath it. As soon as the torrent ceased its downpour, Miguel, now soaked from head to toe again, turned his full attention towards Lina and saw what appears to be a mischevious and pleased expression appearing on her face. This in turn, caused the embarrassment that the young boy had within him to vanish just as he began to say to the petite sorceress, "Lina! What in the world did you do that for?! It's no fair for you to use magic to sneak up on someone like that!"

"Not my fault that you couldn't use spells like that to pay me back without using that power of yours to attract the attention of any nearby Monsters, kid," responded the self proclaimed genius sorceress with her mischevious grin never leaving her face. "Also not my problem that you ended up as a wet blanket and one that couldn't possibly be even more soggy than Zel is now, I might add."

"I heard that, Lina," was what Zelgadis said to the red haired girl with a scrowl of annoyance within his voice just as he made his way back to his seat and resume his whatever research that he was doing while grumbling quietly about annoying red haired girls.

When the young man turned his full attention towards Sylphiel, all that he could see was her normal meek and timid expression reflected upon her eyes. The moment was cut short in less than two seconds for both he and the shrine maiden found themselves caught in another torrent of cold water rushing down on them. As soon as the down pour ceased, Miguel immediately turned his attention away from the shrine maiden and towards the innocent looking red head with a now menacing look on his face just as he said, "Oooo! When I get my hands on you, I'm going to make a splash so big that it would make a tidal wave like a little drizzle!"

"Ha! Tough talk, kid! If only you had the guts to back up that mouth of yours, then I would be in for a lot more than just a tidal wave," was what he heard from Lina with a superior sounding tone within her voice, her grin never vanishing. "Look, the reason why we're all here in the first place is for you, Miguel, to learn when to loosen up for when it comes to dealing with difficult situations. Not to mention try to get you to be a bit more bold for when it comes to dealing with situations like what just happened a while back."

He wasn't surprised by the fact that the red haired sorceress seemed to sound a bit menacing for when she spoke about what happened with the flirting girls a moment ago. Right before he could have the chance to speak, Amelia soon got in between the two of them by saying with a rather thoughtful tone, "I just thought about something, Miss Lina. Why don't you have Mr. Miguel read most of the notes that you've taken while you've been working on your spells? He's obviously a good study for when it comes to reading notes and studying them."

"Amelia, I'm afraid that it's not that simple," responded the sorcery genius while giving off a rather exhausted breath of annoyance. "In case you've forgotten Zel's little demostration with the kid, his concentration needs a bit of work. And to do that, he needs to clear his mind of the tough life that he has back in his world. Now, what to do about his trouble seeing in the water..."

As the red-haired female contemplated on her next move, Miguel quickly ran himself back towards the ocean right before his so-called teacher could have the chance to unleash another water based spell on him. When he dove back into the water, he could already feel the familiar cold of the sea flowing all around him as if it were like an old friend. Right now, he's glad for the greeting for fear of the wrath that Lina might inflict upon him. Of course, he also couldn't see where his attacker/teacher might pounce at him seeing that his eyes have yet to adapted into looking through the water. Of course, it didn't impair his sense of thought, sound, and touch which were a bit more heighten giving him an advantage that most people wouldn't have. This however, wouldn't prevent any on coming attack that the red haired sorceress has in store for the young man as he waited patiently for what seemed to be like five minutes.

_"Okay, I'm not being frozen to death by a spell or being swept into a huge tornado," _was what Miguel thought as he panickly waited for the appearance of one of the sorceress' spells to hit him. _"Just what is that little wacko planning to do? I hope that it doesn't involve the little red-head going into the water and coming after me like I owe her money. I get enough of that with my nephews at home, thank you very much. Now, where could she...?" _

Right before he could have the chance to finish his thoughts, the brown haired young man felt a pair of strong arms being wrapped him in a gentle embrace. Right before he could figure if it was Lina or someone else trying to get the better of him, Miguel found himself being lifted from within the waters of the ocean and up towards the sky. As soon as he felt the air enter his lungs, the young teen began to thrash his arms about in order to free himself from whomever held him captive. When finally released, the brown haired teen began to turn to retaliate to his captor whom had their arms around him only to find the blushing and yet smiling expression of Sylphiel giving off a small giggle.

"Uh, Sylphiel, just what in the world were you doing holding onto me like..." was what Miguel could say before it was too late. He found himself yet again being drenched within a powerful torrent of cold water being poured down upon him. As soon as the water fall ceased, the soak teen turned behind him to see both Lina and Amelia giggling at the prank that they've just pulled. Right before he could have the chance to shout out his protest, what he felt next wasn't what he expected. What the brown haired young man saw are the two other girls jumping up in the air landing just in time to join their older friend in the ocean. Before he knew it, he found himself being surrounded within a bubble-like dome of which looks to be made of glass.

"Wha-What in the world is going on, Guys?!" Miguel asked panickly while at the same time striking his fists against the dome of magic that was placed around their being. "Why do you have a Protection Barrier around us for when there's...?!" He didn't get the chance to finish the rest of his statement for when he felt himself collasping upon the bottom of the energy bubble. The outer worldly teen turned his full attention towards the three women, who he saw were concentrating on maintaining the spell just as he saw themselves being submerged into the ocean's waters. Right before he could have the chance to ask what was happening or what they're doing, Miguel took a quick look around at his surroundings again just in time to see a sight that he thought that he would never be able to see.

What the young man saw is the sight of the ocean floor that he was swimming within before being on Lina's playful hunt. Only difference is that he was able to see it without the waters of the sea to hinder his eyesight. The reefs that he saw on the bottom is as colorful as what he saw in most of the text books that he'd read from his Science class. Small but noticable schools of fish passed by their path just as he and the three female magic users went deeper into the depths of the ocean. As they went deeper, the brown haired teen noticed that they all three continuing to hold their concentration a bit longer in order to finish chanting their own individual spell. When seeing each of them finish, the three females broke out of their trances and turned their full attention towards his direction with sighs of relief due to their hard work on concentrating.

After a moment of uneasy silence, Miguel broke it by saying with a rather amazed and confused tone as he continued to watch the scene through the clear bubble, "Amazing! This is something that I've never thought that I would be able to see the ocean like this. I mean, never mind that! Just what is the point in putting the four us in a huge bubble with a great view of the ocean floor? Is there something that I should know?"

As soon as he finished asking, the brown haired visitor from another world got his answer in the form of a smiling Lina Inverse just as she spoke to him in a rather proud and confident tone of voice, "Well, kid, what we're trying to show you is how well that you could use your magic when you really put your mind to it. I mean, for instance, have you noticed how the three of us were still able to maintain the spell without putting too much effort or even noticing it's still there? The reason why the spells haven't burst like an ordinary bubble is because of the level of magic that the three of us possess. Heh! They've become so relatively easy for us to handle that we could keep this up for six hours and not feel tired."

"Uh, well, that's all good to know, Lina, but what does this have to with me being here?" was what the bewildered youth asked his teacher just as he heard her giving off a sigh of annoyance and impatience.

"Sigh! Amelia, would you mind giving this clueless kid a summary of what I mean while I take time to relax? I don't feel like trying to sum it up for his slow mind right now."

Right before he could have the chance to retort to the red haired sorceress' words, Miguel felt himself being pulled away from Lina's path of fire by both Amelia and Sylphiel while at the same time frighten at the reaction that their emotions have on their combined spells. "Mr. Miguel, please try to understand what we're going to tell you," was what the busty young female while at the same time trying to calm herself just as the trembling reaction within the dome shield which is now beginning to become calm and stable. "Please don't do anything that might make Miss Lina mad at the moment for any stress whatsoever would cause our spells to dissapate at any given moment. Just be grateful that she's calmed down a bit so that nothing bad would happen."

"Sighs! Fine, Amelia. I won't get into an arguement with the hot head and listen," was what the young man responded while at the same time trying to forget what his female magic teacher said about him. "Now, can you please tell me what Lina meant for when she talked about the way that you three are able to maintain your spells without much as a flinch. I mean, you make it look too easy. And try not to call me with the 'Mr.' in front of my name, would you? You make me sound old."

"Well, as Miss Lina has said to you before, M..., I mean, Miguel. How long we are able to maintain a spell really depends on the level of magic we have. You see, a normal person who's just starting out learning how to use magic would need to learn on how to tap into the source for their spells. It usually takes him or her months or even years of training in order to do so. But from what Miss Lina and Miss Sylphiel told me, you're a special case."

"Wha-What do you mean by that?" was what the brown haired teen asked the young self-proclaimed hero of justice while feeling.

"Please allow me to explain this one, Miss Amelia," he heard Sylphiel saying to the younger girl while at the same time noticing that her tone seemed to be a bit hesitate right before he noticed her walking towards his direction and looking at him with a worried expression before she whispered into his ear. "Miguel, do you remember that time when we've fought with...a part of Nightmare Parasite in your world?"

At that moment, both confusion and what appears to be anger seemed to stream right out of the young man's entire body right before he spoke out in a outraged tone, "How in the hell could I forget that damn ugly thing?! I could barely get to sleep at night thanks to that disgusting creature from hell! When I find that thing one of these days, I'll...!!"

Right before he could have the chance to finish his angry rant, the brown haired teen felt a sting of pain crawling up one of his cheeks just as he managed to figure out what has happened. What he felt was feeling of Sylphiel's hand smacking itself upon his right cheek while at the same time able to end his angry rant. When he turned his full attention back towards the shrine maiden's face who he saw wearing a rather stern and yet worried expression on her lovely face. Equally surprising to this fact, Miguel noticed both Lina and Amelia with shock faces worn on their faces just as silence reigned in their private spot. Lina is the first to break the ice with a tone of voice that's just as surprised about what happened as her expression implies.

"Whoa! Now what in the hell was that about?! Sylphiel resorting to smacking someone on the face whenever he or she gets hysterical? That's something that you don't see everyday! What brought that on all of a sudden?"

"That's what I would like to know myself, Miss Lina!" Amelia said to her petite red head with an equally surprised expression in her voice right before she spoke again. "Just what happened to Miguel that has made him rant like a raving person out for revenge that would cause Miss Sylphiel to be so desperate to slap him?"

Again silence seemed to reign over their surroundings just as both the young man and the older shrine maiden were feeling a bit akward about what just happened. Miguel especially for as he realized that he let his anger get the better of him for when the subject of Nightmare Parasite was brought up. Right as he thought that he should start explaining his little outburst to both their two friends, the silence was broken once again by Lina who calmly began to speak in a surprisingly mature and calm matter, "Amelia, I think that we should just say that it's a rather personal issue that both he and Sylphiel would rather not talk much about. Let's just leave it at that and continue with Miguel's little lesson."

At that moment, Miguel wasn't sure whether he should feel relieved and grateful to the red haired sorceress at the change of subject or confused and annoyed at what the last part that she spoke of. Five seconds later, he chose to express a little of each just as he spoke, "Sigh! Lina, let me see if I got this straight. You've planned this entire scene just so that you could have me learn something? I'm grateful for the little change in subject that you've done earlier, but you could've at least done something that wouldn't involve having Sylphiel slap me across the face."

At those words, he turned his attention towards the older dark haired woman who he saw blushing with both embarrassment and mortification at what she did just before he turned his full attention toward the self-proclaimed sorcery genius just as she spoke. "Well, it's not my fault that you've lost your temper over something that seemed to happen a while ago, pal! Sylphiel told me all about how the two of you met and how bad it turned out with that creature that you've mentioned. Now, I have no right to pry into your own personal business if it's going get the two of you upset," was what Lina said to him in a calm tone right before her voice turned into a rather loud and threatening one. "But that's no excuse to just blow your top over it just because of some mistakes that you've made in the past! If Sylphiel hadn't slapped some sense back into you, then everything would be a real mess for when you attempt to cast a spell! The same thing that could get you blown up or eaten alive if you don't have any control on your emotions! Do I make myself clear, pal?!"

When she said those words to him, Miguel felt himself becoming small with fear as he felt the gaze of Lina towering over him like a huge scary monster readying itself to clamp its teeth upon its prey just as he said in a meek tone, "Yes, ma'am! Perfectly!"

"Good! I'm glad that you understand," was what he heard the red haired sorceress respond with a now cheerful tone just as she turned her attention away from him happily almost as if she hadn't been upset at all. "Now, it's time to go on to the final part of our lesson for today, kid! So pay attention!"

The brown haired teen did as he was told as he patiently awaited what his teacher is going to do for his final portion of his lesson. Right before he could have the chance to assume the worse, Miguel felt a finger tap gently on his shoulder just as he turned and saw Sylphiel's face looking at him with a worried expression on it. He took the one moment to quietly whisper to her, "Sylph, thanks for smacking some sense into me. I really needed it so don't feel bad about it. It's not your fault."

The young man's words seemed to have caught the shrine maiden off guard for when he saw a flush of pink appearing on her cheeks in embarrassment. Before he could have the chance to hear a response from the young woman's mouth, Miguel heard the impatient tone of Lina saying to him, "Hey, kid! Are you paying attention or are you just going to be flirting with Sylphiel the entire time?!"

As soon as he heard those words, the brown haired teen began to panickly turn his attention back towards the petite sorceress in fear of what wrath she might inflict upon him if he didn't coroperate. When he finally turn his full attention towards the fiery female, Miguel heard her saying to him with a calmer tone, "Good. Now that I've got your attention, kid, the last portion of our lesson could begin. Watch and listen carefully 'cause I'm only going to be doing this once."

What the brown haired teen saw next was something that he didn't expect to see. What he saw was Lina diving towards the magicial barrier that she and two young shrine maidens have created and went through it like a person would do when he or she were swimming in a public pool or outdoor lake as if the magic bubble like is made of water. Just as he was about to react, Miguel saw the red haired sorceress looking at his direction within the water and said to him with a confused tone, "Why are you looking at me as if I've grown two heads or something, kid? Is it that much of a shock that a person could breathe underwater with the use of magic?"

As he heard those words out of her mouth, the brown haired teen considered giving her a piece of his mind but immediately reconsidered for when he remembered who he was dealing with. After taking a moment to calm himself, the young teen from another world heard Lina saying to him just as he is still getting over the initial shock of hearing the red head's voice in ocean waters, "If you're wondering about how I'm able to breathe underwater, kid, then listen up. What I used is a spell called Aqua Breath that allows me to breath underwater for longer periods of time than a person who swims without the use of magic. But this spell sort of depends on the magical power that a person has within his or her body, which brings me to my next point. Miguel, think that you could place your hand on the Protection barrier for a minute?"

Relunctantly, the teen from another world did as he's told and placed one of his hands on the protection field that was place around himself and the two other shrine maidens. What he saw next is something that took him by surprise. What Miguel saw is the invisible glass like dome of magic instantly growing to a size that would have fitted an entire bus load of people. Confused at what was happening, the brown haired teen immediately withdrew his hand from the dome shield and saw it changing back into its regular size. The young man broken the split second silence by turning to both a surprised Amelia and Sylphiel, speaking in a shocked and confused tone.

"Wh-What the hell just happened?! As soon as I touched that bubble around us, it suddenly grew big for when I touched it! Just what...?!"

Before he could have the chance to finish the rest of his statement, Miguel saw the shrine maiden of Sairaag beginning to regain her compsure and said to him, "This is what I speaking of before for when I mentioned about that battle we've had about...Nightmare Parasite. You see, when the two of us combined our powers in order to destroy it the first time, most of the power that's used came from you."

"Huh?" was what the young man responded to the older woman with a confused expression evident on his face for as he tries to understand what the shrine maiden told him. "W-Wait a minute, Sylphiel! I was in my Chaos Form along with Sonic and the guys for when Parasite had beaten us to a pulp just before deciding to use my remaining strength to increase the power of that spell of yours. Personally, I didn't think that all of the remaining Chaos Energy within me would be enough to amplify the Dragon Slave to blow that thing to bits. If that attack hadn't hit its mark, then the two of us wouldn't be standing here."

"That's not what Sylphiel is saying, twig boy!" was what he heard Lina saying with a commanding tone just as he felt anger and annoyance at the name he's given just before she continued her speech in the water. "From what she told me, she felt something within you that she couldn't explain. When she first came into contact with the energy of this Chaos Emerald that you guys keep babbling about, she sensed something rather uneasy and wild happening within those green gems. But when she felt all of that energy leaving you, something different suddenly flowed from your body and into hers that's very familiar to her. She describes the feeling as the one that she gets for when she was finally able to harness her magic power for the first time as a kid. Do you know where I'm getting at, kid?"

"Uh, Miss Lina, I don't think that Miguel knows what you're talking about," was what he heard Amelia saying with a rather careful tone just as she pointed towards a confused and blank faced male teen.

"Well, in that case, I guess that there's only one thing to do," was what he heard the petite red head saying through the water with a rather mischevous grin that made him wish that she were yelling at him rather than acting like a trouble making sibling.

Right before he could figure out what the sorceress had in her mind, Miguel soon found his air supply instantly cut off by a huge torrent of water surrounding his entire body. Instinctively, the teen did the only thing that would save him from drowning in the ocean and that's to swim upward as fast as he can. Despite not being adapt with the seeing in the water, the brown haired young man is able to get to the surface just before his lungs could burst from lack of oxygen. Just as he managed to get in a long deep breath of air, Miguel instantly began to hear the crazed and uncontrolable laughter of both Lina and Amelia just as he turned to see the said girls doing so, minus Sylphiel who he saw is trying her best not to join in on the laughter. All that the embarrassed teen could do is scrowl at the underhanded sneak prank that was played on him.

_"Great. The only time that Lina chooses to get serious with my lessons and I end up not understanding what she meant. Not to mention that when I don't get something in her lessons, I end up wet up the creek in water, so to speak. I could only guess about what else she has in mind for my next lesson. Oh, joy. I can't wait."_

**A/N:**Okay, everyone, I know that I took long to get updated on my stories, but I've just been lacking from either experience and time or I'm busy trying to read and review fics that I've took interest in at this site. Though it shouldn't come as a surprise seeing that there's so many fics to keep track of. As a result, I'm going to have to lay back on the Maurice's Skit Fics until I get my long fanfiction project completed and up or completed all of my past works. Speaking of which, I've just completed the first phase of my fanfiction project named Silver Radiance. Now all I have to do is put the ideas down on paper and put them together in separate chapters. I'm going to try to at least update a bit more often so that I could try to get some work done. Well, in any case, thanks for all of the support that all of you have still continued to read my works. Later!


	5. Evening Disturbance

**Evening Disturbance**

"Man! I don't what's worse: Lina training me in magic or training me in swords! Sheesh!" was what Miguel said to himself out loud while at the same time stumbling towards his hotel room in order to retire for the evening.

The thought of having to deal with lifting weights just to have him develop some muscle and strength was bad enough. But having to deal with lifting boulders that weighed more than his body is just crossing the line. The fact that the idea originally came from Amelia, among most people, as well as Lina egging him during their section didn't help lighten matters either. Both of his throbbed just thinking about it. "How in the hell did that little wacko expect me to hold out two rocks that weigh about two hundred pounds each?! Especially for when I'm not even using any of my own Chaos Emerald enhanced abilities!" the young man said out loud while at the same giving out a long and deep sigh of relief while going over to one of the three beds and laid on his back.

His entire body relaxed with the quiet atmosphere of the hotel room that he's in. He along with both Gourry and Zelgadis have to share in one room while his magic/swords teacher along with the two other females shared another. He wouldn't forget the warning that he got from Lina for when he heard Sylphiel asking the red haired sorceress if the two of them would share a bed together. Needless to say, the Dragon Spooker wasn't too pleased with the thought of one of her close friends sleeping in the same bed with some teenaged boy, who she just got to know, that would take advantaged of the situation. Miguel shuddered at the thought of one of her fireballs roasting his entire body to a cinder and concluded that it be wise to do as she says.

"Like that little red head could tell me what to do," was what the young man muttered right as he started to slowly relax his mind from what he had to endure. "Man, the way that the girl has been giving me nasty looks makes the ones that Shadow gives the others look like a puppy. Heh! I wonder how both he and Mana are doing. Betting that the hedgehog with the toughest attitude on Mobius and in SEGA history is being wrapped in a hug by the cutest girl in the **Yu-Gi-Oh!** card game. Even though they are considered to be the weirdest couple that I have ever seen."

The thought of the Ultimate Life Form and the Dark Magician Girl as a couple brought a smile to Miguel's face for as he recalled the time for when both of them came to his world either through the will of a mysterious force or by a chance in fate. The next time that he saw the two of them, the brown haired teen could clearly see that both Hedgehog and humanoid girl are affectionate towards one another. That and the fact that he heard Mana calling her new boyfriend her "Sweet Puppy," while causing the Shadow to blush and becoming a bit annoyed at the nickname he's been given. He could still remember the look of embarrassment as well as the quiet and yet unusually playful threat he received from the black hedgehog if he were to spill the beans to the rest of the gang. Of course, Miguel knew better than to go on telling Sonic and the others that the Ultimate Life Form himself has a soft and playful side let alone a new love of his life.

_"Well, whatever Mana is doing for Shadow is actually making him more social and fun person to talk and be around with. But right now, all I want to do is get to bed,"_ was all that went through the teen's mind right as he closed his eyes and let himself drift to sleep.

Of course, the moment of peace and quiet only lasted for about five seconds for when he hears a girlish shriek coming from the room next door, which happens to be the one that the females are sharing.

"So much for a good night's rest," Miguel muttered as he reluctantly moved away from the bed and rose just in time to rush out of the room to see what is causing the commotion.

As soon as he made it towards the entrance of the girls' bedroom, the young man instantly became flabbergasted at the sight before him. What he saw is a seemingly frighten Amelia clad in nothing but a towel. Instinctively, he immediately averted his gaze away from the half naked young woman and shouted out while blushing madly, "A-Amelia! Just what in the world were you screaming for and why are you dressed in a towel of all things?!"

"I was just finished with getting myself soaked and relaxed in this resort's hot springs, Mr. Miguel!" he heard the princess exclaim while at the same time keeping his hands on his eyes so as to not be tempted to look at the young girl in front of him. "I was going into my room in order to change when I saw the eyes of a monster appeared out of nowhere and scared me half to death! As soon as I screamed, you came along and...!"

"What in the hell is going on here?!" was what Miguel heard just as his body began to tremble for when he recognized who the voice belong to and could even feel the heat of anger being emitted by the female owner just as she shouted once again in rage. "Miguel!! Were you trying to take advantage of poor Amelia while she's half naked in a towel! Oh, Am I going to...!"

"Lina!! Now's not the time to be venting your anger at the guy for doing what you're thinking!" was what he heard Gourry shouting to the red-haired girl while at the same time hearing the sounds of struggling and cursing being ensued throughout the area.

Before he could have the chance to see the struggle between both swordsman and sorceress, the brown haired teen practically heard the voice of Sylphiel, in her polite and friendly manner, saying to her smaller friend while at the same time sounding a bit worried, "Gourry's right, Lina! You know very well on how Miguel reacts for when he sees attractive women no matter if they're...half naked."

Noticing the rather jealous sounding tone that the shrine maiden added to the last part of her sentence, Miguel was about to inquire on it for when he heard the voice of Zelgadis suddenly appearing out of nowhere, "Just what in the hell are all of you doing causing all that noi...AMELIA?!"

It doesn't take a person with psychic powers to figure out that the human chimera was flustered at the sight of his supposed crush frighten, shaking, and in a towel to boot. Right before he could have the chance to even speak or snicker at the normally grim man's reaction, he heard the sounds of what appears to be a crash coming from within the girls' bedroom. This in turn caused all of the ruckus to cease for when everyone within the area turned their attention towards the door to the room. Lina was the first to speak out her thoughts, her anger quickly forgotten, "Just what in the hell is that? Sounds like a litter of puppies have made it too our room."

"That's what I've been yelling about, Miss Lina! There's something in our room that shouldn't be living at all!" was what he heard Amelia saying to the red head while uncovering his eyes a bit to see the little woman clinging onto the stone skinned man who at the moment flushed at the fact that she's close to him wearing nothing but a towel around her body.

"Well, whatever it is, it's soon going to be a dead sack of meat!" he heard the Dragon Spooker replying while at the same time hearing her crack her knuckles in preparation for dealing with whatever creature frighten Amelia.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa, Lina! There are other people within this building that are trying to sleep too, you know," Miguel spoke to the sorceress while at the same time forgetting the embarrassing sight of Amelia in a towel and focused on trying to stop Lina's rampage. "You don't want us to be up on our knees in debts with all the damage you'll cause with your spells. The last thing that I need for my training is for all of us to end up doing a pile of dirty dishes that's been piling by the dozen."

"He's got you there, Lina," Zelgadis added to the teen's words as he fought a red flush that's been enveloping on this stone face for sometime while hearing the chimera trying to sound serious as he could while speaking in a sarcastic tone. "As I seem to fondly recall, the last time that we went to a local inn while on our little quest for the Claire Bible, you've found a slug on your bed which resulted in us having to rebuild and clean up the whole place that took about a month and a half to do."

"Well, what should all of us do in order to get that little critter out of the girls' room?" was the first coherent thought that Gourry has spoken out loud since coming to the scene. "One of us has to go into the room to check it out and see if we could get the little thing out of there."

Silence crawled all around the room for as everyone in the room looked at the muscle headed blonde with awe at his rare spark of genius. Even Sylphiel, who in the past looked passed his lack of brains, find it amazing for when he says an intelligent thought. Lina spoke out her thoughts at the swordsman rare spout of inspiration, "You know he's really got a good point there as much as I hate to admit it, guys. One of us is going to have to go into that room and take care of that beast."

"But Lina, who do you have in mind?" spoke the shrine maiden of Sairaag while at the same time worried at what her little friend has in mind.

"Well, it has to be someone that doesn't look like a regular blue plate special to a monster and who doesn't have a lot of meat on his body to feed on, Sylph. Someone like…"

He heard the red head dragging out the last sentence before turning his full attention towards his magic teacher who he saw giving him a menacing grin at his direction. Fortunately, Miguel isn't as thick headed as Gourry would be for his brain instantly realized what the red-head is planning to do. Before he could even make a run towards his room, the young man soon found himself in a headlock at the mercy of Lina Inverse.

"Augh! L-L-Lina! N-No way I'm going t-to act as live bait for th-th-that thing!" was what the outer worldly teen said to the stronger sorceress while at the same time struggling to get air into his lungs.

"Oh, come on, kid! You're the only one amongst us who isn't viewed as some ghoul's late night snack!" he heard the self proclaimed sorcery genius saying while at the same time dragging him towards the entrance of her room while trying to sound optimistic. "Besides, you've just showed today through your training today that you're stronger than normal humans despite your scrawny looking body! You could take that thing on no problem!"

"Geez, thanks for the words of encouragement, teach," Miguel responded in a tone dripping with sarcasm while at the same time trying desperately to get out of her grasp but found prove futile. "There's no way in hell am I going to act as bait for that little creature in your room and there's absolutely no way that you could get me to think otherwise!"

_"How the hell did I get dragged into this?" _was what the outer worldly teen thought to himself while at the same time scanning his surroundings for the little creature that was terrorizing the girls' room.

Miguel muttered and cursed at how he was pulled into the room by a strong and yet life threatening girl who by no means would blow him to bits no matter what the consequence of her actions would be. How exactly was he dragged into this situation he wouldn't be able to figure out seeing that the moment only lasted for a few seconds before he could comprehend anything. So armed with a dull practice sword and a wooden chair to use as a shield, the young man tried as bravely as he could to search for whatever animal that not even the Dragon Spooker herself would dare get near.

_"The least she could do is send someone along to accompany me like Gourry or Sylphiel,"_ was what went through the brown haired youth's mind while at the same time clutching at the dull sword and wooden shield with all his strength still searching for the mystery monster. _"Oh, is Lina really going to pay for this for when I get out of this mess! I don't know how or when, but when that time does come, I'll...!!"_

Miguel's thoughts were cut short for when he heard the sound of what appears to be soft growling coming from under one of the neatly made beds that the girls sleep on. This in turn caused the young man to jump in both surprise and fright at hearing the noise, nearly dropping his weapons in the process. The fact that the entire room is shrouded in shadows while the full moon is lit all around didn't help to calm his nerves either. _"Great! What a way to show that you're a man, Miguel. Next, you're going to start thinking that the Boogy Man is in the closest waiting for an innocent girl to show up! Get a grip on yourself, man and just see what's under the bed." _

With those thoughts done, the young man bravely approach the normal sized bed as best as he could. When he lifted the blanket a bit to see what was under the bed, what he saw within the dark shadows is a pair of sinister looking eyes glowing with an frighten red light. Miguel instantly backed away for when he saw the creature in question starting to move in from under the furniture and towards his direction. This gave him an almost clear view of the little animal's body which he is able to see thanks to the moonlight through the resort window. He saw what appears to be a fluffy brown fur to be surrounding its entire body that appears to also have small traces of black on it. The brown haired teen could also see dog-like ears along with a cold looking nose that would make it look like a harmless stray. The red eyes that he saw from the little animal earlier happened to be a sort of optical illusion caused by the moon's rays.

"Whew! Well, at least this little fella isn't some big dog wanting to take a bite out of me," Miguel thought out loud to himself with a sigh of relief just as he started to shout out towards the entrance to the girls' room. "Hey, guys! It's safe to come in now because all I see here is a little small puppy that appears to be frightened! It doesn't seem dangerous enough to be a monster!"

At those words the young man could hear the voices of his companions stumbling towards the door and entering the room. Not taking his attention off of the seemingly harmless creature, the brown haired teen heard Lina shouting, "What the hell?! All this time you've been scared out of your mind by a harmless pooch that wouldn't even hurt a fly, Amelia?!"

"Miss Lina! I didn't know that there was even a baby animal in the room because it was too dark to tell anything," was what he heard the princess of Seyruun saying to her hot tempered companion while still maintaining to keep an eye on the frightened animal right in front of him.

"Would the two of you stop acting like idiots and start thinking of a way on how to deal with this little dog?" was what he heard the chimera asking with annoyance dripping from his voice. "Lina's shouting is causing the little thing to panic enough as it is."

True to Zel's words, Miguel saw the little dog creature beginning to tremble at all of the shouting that it was hearing. Right before he could try to reassure the small creature that it was in no immediate danger, the young man saw Sylphiel going over towards the animal's direction while speaking to it in a soothing tone of voice, "Hello there, little guy. Don't be afraid. Are you lost? We won't hurt you."

At hearing those words, the teen could've sworn that the dark haired shrine maiden sounded like a concerned mother speaking to a lost child. Before he knew it, Miguel saw the small animal beginning to yelp with excitement while at the same time jumping into Sylphiel's arms while rubbing itself against her with affection and gratitude. He heard a slight squeal of delight being emitted from Amelia who he just remembered still being clung herself onto Zelgadis. "EEEEEEE! That's so cute!"

Before he could have the chance to respond or point out about the young girl's current attire, the brown haired swordsman/magic user in training felt himself being pushed out of the room by the an annoyed and rushing Lina Inverse who also seemed to have both Gourry and Zelgadis in the grasp of her inhuman strength. "Alright! Now that that's out of the way, I think that it's time for your three boys to be heading back into your room before I decide to throw a fit. Out you go!"

Just before he could have the chance to protest, Miguel along with both the swordsman and human chimera found themselves outside the entrance of their female companions' room. "Uh, what just happened, guys?" was what he heard Gourry asking while at the same time as confused as both he and Zelgadis are.

"I think that we've just been thrown out of the girls' room without our say in the matter, Gourry," the Zel responded to his ignorant friend while at the same time pushing his muscle body towards their bedroom. "Miguel, are you coming?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! I'm coming, Zel!" was the young man's response while at the same time still in awe at what he just saw from the dark haired woman a moment ago. _"Hm. The moment that Sylphiel was trying to take care of that little dog is almost like she's a natural born mother. I wonder what kind of children that the two of us could bring into the world if..." _

The brown haired teen began to blush in embarrassment for when he realized what he just thought of in his mind. _"Man, what in the hell was that about?!"_ Miguel thought while at the same time fighting off the red on his face dumbstruck about his recent thoughts. _"She and I as husband and wife? Now that would be something that I wouldn't be able to take in seeing that I'm about three or four years younger than she is. And I know that I'm not as what most women would call boyfriend material let alone a husband. I'm not even sure that Sylphiel would even find a guy like me attractive with the way I..." _

His thoughts were soon cut short for when he heard the voice of Gourry calling out to him, "Hey, Miguel! Are you just going to stand there all night or are you coming to bed?"

"Huh?! Oh, yeah! I'm coming!" responded the young teen right as he snapped himself out of his trance and head towards his suite room right before he muttered quietly. "Sweet dreams, Sylph."

**A/N:**** I've got to say that it took me a while for me to get a new chapter up for this story. It's just that I've been busy with my own life becoming a bit complex and hard for me to catch up on. In any case, this was suppose to be an idea that I've got while watching an old TV show I've saw as a kid. But I've mixed it up a bit hoping to get a bit more comedy into the mix. Well, in either case, I hope that all of you would like what I've put up. Later!**

**Maurice A. Nigma**

**The Great Blue One**


End file.
